Though your number one goal in giving a massage is to alleviate pain in your subject, you can't forget about yourself. By practicing proper body mechanics and conditioning, you can avoid injury. Massage can be physically demanding -- close to 78 percent of therapists get injured while on the job, according to "Massage Today." You should ideally be able to perform five to six hours of massage daily without pain, as long as your body mechanics are correct. If you're feeling pain, it's time to assess and re-learn how to do massage.
Posture Over Strength
As a massage therapist, strength is helpful, but proper body mechanics are the key to providing a quality massage for your client while protecting your own body. Proper mechanics allow you to use leverage and your body weight as pressure during the massage. Check the height of your table before the massage to ensure it isn't too high or low, either of which can compromise your mechanics. To check this, stand next to your table sideways, and if your fingertips slightly touch the top of the table, you've got it set at the appropriate height.
Keep It Straight
Positioning your body incorrectly can cause back problems. You may tend to bend forward, causing an unnatural curve in your spine. Instead, if you need to lean forward, bend your knees to get lower and then bend forward from the hips. This keeps your spine straight as well as distributes the motion throughout your body -- as opposed to your back taking all the stress.
Support Your Joints
During a massage, joints should never be at an angle at which they're not supported. If you're applying a large amount of pressure using your forearm, your elbow should be bent to a 90-degree angle with your shoulder in line. Your back should also be straight while bending at your hips, knees bent to allow your body weight to contribute to the pressure, as well. Your movement should come from your feet, not from bending forward. Again, this distributes weight evenly throughout your body and allows you to use your body weight to apply pressure without straining joints or muscles.
Build Your Stamina
Muscle strength is helpful as a massage therapist, so doing strength-building exercises will prove beneficial. Try using a handheld exercise ball or hand grips or even weightlifting. Unfortunately, even the strongest muscles can become tired, so add in some cardio or aerobic training for stamina. If you don't have stamina, eventually, your muscles will give out, thus putting stress on other areas of your body, which can lead to injury. If you can only choose one workout, make it cardio because you can always use your body mechanics to compensate for the lack of strength.
References
- "Massage Today"; Body Mechanics and Continuing Education; Sandy Fritz; March 2002
- "Massage & Bodywork"; Visualizing Bones in Body Mechanics; Mary Ann Foster; December/January 2007
- American Massage Therapy Association; For the Long Run -- Self-Care; Lauriann Greene and Richard W. Goggins; Sept. 10, 2010
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